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Because Porsche wasn’t about to let Mercedes-Benz have all the sport wagon fun with its CLS Shooting Brake, the German sports car maker has revealed the Panamera Sport Turismo concept, a car that hints at the design of the brand’s next-gen four-door.

The Porsche Panamera has always had a polarizing profile, and that trend continues with the Sport Turismo concept. Instead of being radically raked as on the current model, the roof slopes down more gently for a more hatchback-like rear end. That rear end gains more slender taillights, which share similarities with those on the new Boxster and 991-generation 911. The taillights are joined by a panel in the middle branded with the Porsche logo, while a long, slim third brake light hides under an adaptive carbon roof spoiler, which Porsche says is functional. The quad-tipped exhaust is retained, but the pipes are rounder on this concept. A revised bumper with a simulated rear diffuser completes the rear-end look. Compared with the U.S.-spec Panamera, the Sport Turismo concept is 0.8 inch shorter, 4.9 inches narrower, and 0.6 inch shorter.

The most noticeable change in front is in the headlights, each of which sports a distinctive arrangement of stacked LED projectors. The front valance opening is wider, with the side air inlets. Those air inlets house what Porsche calls C-Blades, strips of LEDs that make up the car’s turn signals and daytime running lights. The vent in the front fender is still present, along with the character line across the doors. Just after the vent is an “e-hybrid” badge, which, as you might expect, means this concept sports a plug-in hybrid drivetrain.

The Sport Turismo utilizes the same 329-hp supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 found in the current Panamera S Hybrid and Cayenne S Hybrid, but the hybrid components have been enhanced. A new electric motor produces around 94 hp, roughly twice the output of the units used in current Porsche hybrid models. Peak combined system power is 410 hp, which Porsche says is good enough 0-62 mph in less than 6 seconds. That’s not hard to believe, considering Porsche’s 5.7-second estimated 0-60-mph time for the regular Panamera S Hybrid is half a second slower than the performance of a 2012 model we tested earlier this year.

The battery pack has also been upgraded for the Sport Turismo, with a 9.4-kWh lithium-ion battery replacing the nickel-hydride unit used in the current system. In pure electric mode, the Sport Turismo can drive more than 19 miles at speeds up to around 81 mph, according to the automaker. The battery can be charged externally in 2.5 hours using a wall-mounted charger.

Porsche says it drew on minimalist sports car design philosophies to craft the concept’s interior, which features a large multifunction TFT display as the instrument cluster, which can bring up driver information as it’s needed, showing everything from the speedometer to navigation. Flanking this display are two monitors displaying feeds from the exterior sideview cameras that replace conventional side mirrors on this concept. Another set of displays relays info about battery charge state and other hybrid-specific data.

Starting the car requires pressing the virtual ignition on the touch display, and in traditional Porsche fashion, that button is located on the left of the screen. More touch controls can be found in the center console, which houses an iPad-like screen. Using black-panel technology, the display places controls for e-hybrid functions at the driver’s fingertips. There, the driver can select from multiple driving modes to maximize efficiency or performance. When not in the vehicle, a driver can access info on the car remotely via a mobile app. Features like charge timing and preheating or precooling the cabin can be controlled from a smart phone.

The Panamera Sport Turismo remains a concept, but the design language and technology it showcases is likely a taste of things to come from the Stuttgart-based automaker.

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